TAUBERBISCHOFSHEIM, Germany – Comprising three of the four
members of the U.S. Women’s Foil team, Columbia foilists Nzingha Prescod,
Margaret Lu and Nicole Ross fenced their way to a fourth-place finish in the
Tauberbischofsheim World Cup last week, marking the best showing by the U.S. squad
since 2007.

The Lion fencers were unable to participate in the NCAA
Regional qualifiers due to the World Cup competition, but showed the world in a
big way just what Columbia University fencing is made of.

In the table of 16, London XXX Olympians Prescod and Ross
were joined by Lu, a two-time Junior World medalist, in battling a Hungarian
team led by four-time Senior World medalist Aida Mohamed.

Ross and Lu won their bouts against Mohamed to set up a
40-25 lead for the U.S. headed into the final bout, during which Prescod
anchored the Americans to a 45-26 win with a 5-1 final victory over Mohamed.

The quarterfinal bouts came against a Korean team that
included two Olympic bronze medalists, Hee-Sook Jeo and Gil-Ok Jung.

Despite Korea winning each of their last six matches,
Prescod, Ross and Lu fenced strategic early bouts to win or tie six of the
first eight bouts and take a 25-17 lead. In the final match, Lu making her
international debut as an anchor, fenced her way to a 15-14 win and a 40-31 overall
victory for Team USA.

Another big test came in the semifinals as the U.S. squad
faced Russia, the 2012 Olympic silver medalists, and France. The Americans put
up a fight but ultimately fell 45-19 to Russia and 45-23 to France.

Prescod, Ross and Lu will return to international
competition on March 22 at the Torino Foil World Cup.